Flora

Flora, in Roman religion, the goddess of the flowering of plants. Titus Tatius (according to tradition, the Sabine king who ruled with Romulus) is said to have introduced her cult to Rome; her temple stood near the Circus Maximus. Her festival, called the Floralia, was instituted in 238 bc. A representation of Flora’s head, distinguished only by a floral crown, appeared on coins of the republic. Her name survives in the botanical term for vegetation of a particular environment.

Flora, classical sculpture; in the Capitoline Museum, RomeAlinari/Art Resource, New York

Myths about her are recorded in Ovid’sFasti, Book V. A nymph called Chloris was kissed by the West Wind, Zephyrus, and was turned into Flora. This story is the subject of Sandro Botticelli’sPrimavera. According to Ovid, Flora helped Juno—who was angry that Jupiter had produced Minerva from his own head—become pregnant with Mars by giving her a magic flower.

Primavera, tempera on wood by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1477–82; in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.Scala/Art Resource, New York